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Internet rumors hurt people, can’t they really be handled?
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Recently, Ms. Wu in Hangzhou was secretly filmed on video and spread “brother messenger derailed” rumors when she was receiving delivery. Earlier, a girl diagnosed with a new coronary pneumonia in Chengdu, Zhao, was slandered by man-made rumors; a parent of a student in Guangzhou invented that “the teacher physically punished the students to make them vomit blood.” These online rumors have attracted widespread attention. The lawyer recalled that the Internet is not a place outside the law. “Temporary venting of personal anger” and “eye gazing” can carry penalties under criminal law.
Ms. Wu from Hangzhou, Zhejiang never thought she would be pushed into the whirlwind of online rumors. In July this year, Lang secretly photographed her picking up the express at the district express station. After that, Lang and He played “Brother Express” and “Owner Woman”, fabricated unintelligible WeChat chat content, and sent a 9-second screenshot of the video and chat content to the car’s group of friends, and Then they sent her to the community. Rumors from the group of owners, such as “the rich woman derailed the express brother”, fermented immediately.
“You only use your mouth to spread rumors, but you have to run to refute them.” In many incidents, rumors made up false information cheaply, and some people even spent money to buy popularity and feed Internet rumors. With the “wings” of the Internet, Internet rumors often run faster, spread more widely, and have more destructive power than the truth. At the same time, “by-products” follow that easily violate citizens’ rights, such as online violence and searches for human flesh.
The lawyer pointed out that cyberspace is not a place outside the law and cyber rumors are not illegal. If fabricating and spreading false information constitutes Internet rumors, then Internet rumors, broadcasters and service providers may have corresponding civil and even criminal liability.
The victims of rumors are caught in a whirlpool
As of June 2020, the number of Internet users in China reached 940 million. From time to time network rumors and other bad or even illegal information appear. According to the China Internet Integrity Development Report released in 2020, 66.6% of respondents often come across Internet rumors.
Public figures like entertainment stars are “most affected” by online rumors, but in recent years, the problem of online rumors has spread to the lives of ordinary people. Rumor makers often deliberately fabricate so-called “truth” and “information” without facts, even at the expense of personal battles, self-direction and performance, mixing low-cost text, images, videos and other content, and uploading them to platforms. social and online platforms. To achieve the purpose of the sensation.
Behind the spread of rumors, there are victims caught in a whirlpool.
In the “Women receiving express delivery in Hangzhou” incident, the work and life of the victim, Ms. Wu, were completely disturbed and she was deeply troubled by malicious gossip and slander. Later, the company persuaded Ms. Wu to resign and the hospital diagnosed her with depression. Recently, some netizens spread rumors and maliciously slandered Zhao, a girl diagnosed with a new coronary pneumonia in Chengdu. Personal information, including photos of Xiao Yao (a pseudonym), another girl from Hunan, was also posted on the internet and was rumored to be the confirmed girl Zhao. They both suffered online. violence.
Rumors are fierce that tigers, in addition to causing physical and psychological harm to victims, can also cause social harm. On May 30, Liu Mou, the head of a Guangzhou family, posted on Weibo that his daughter was corporally punished by the school principal for vomiting blood and uploaded photos of bloody clothes and shoes, which attracted the attention of many netizens. However, after investigation and verification by the police, it was discovered that Liu was deliberately making up lies to expand his influence. The police also found relevant evidence that Liu was suspected of hiring staff to conduct online advertising.
“I was still sad for her yesterday, but today I completely changed it. The rumor mills consumed the public’s sympathy and undermined the credibility of education,” a netizen said in a Weibo message. In view of Liu’s behavior that seriously disrupts public order, has a negative social impact and is suspected of causing disturbances, the police brought a case for investigation and transferred it for prosecution.
Low-cost processing is for eyes only
“Vent private anger” and “boo eyes” are the reasons why some rumors fabricate and spread false information.
In January this year, Liang from Changfeng County, Hefei City, due to conflicts with the parents of Liang Mouyun and Liang Mouchen, fabricated the rumor that “the two villagers of Zhuxiang City, Changfeng County, returned from Wuhan with symptoms of fever “and spread it. The information and contact number of the party; Lang, who fabricated the “rich woman cheating on express brother” rumors, said the rumors were just “jokes,” but according to the police report, Lang and He were motivated to “get attention.”
The attention economy prevails, and in the eyes of some rumor-makers, traffic pays off. “In practice, there are some illegal transactions, like spending money to buy enthusiasm, which fuels Internet buzz.” Zhao Hu, a partner at the Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, said in an interview with a Workers’ Daily reporter that there are interests behind some internet rumors. chain.
According to public information, in the “Master’s physical punishment case for counterfeit clothing and blood rumors,” the rumor Liu paid 760 yuan to Ma for services such as “adding fans,” like and forwarding. Later, Ma outsourced to an illegal network platform, prompting the Weibo of “Physical punishment of children with asthma in a primary school in Guangzhou to Hematemesis Rescue” and was forwarded more than 1.4 million times.
“The cost of spreading rumors is too low and the punishment too light. Some information online makes it difficult to distinguish between true and false.” Many netizens said that “online rumors have been bitter for a long time.” In a 164,000-person questionnaire voted on by Xinhuanet, nearly 20% of netizens said it is difficult to distinguish rumors online, and there are also cases of “assists” being sent after they have been misled by rumors.
Zhao Hu pointed out that the Internet is not illegal. If fabricating and spreading false information constitutes rumor online, rumors and broadcasters may have civil and even criminal liability.
The reporter learned during the interview that after encountering rumors on the Internet, many victims are not clear about the specific legal procedures and, at the same time, worry about economic, time and energy costs, they are often easy to give up to the protection of your rights, which leads to the incident.
After spreading the rumors, we must not stop to “apologize”
“What I can do is use the protection of my rights to deter other people in society who are guilty of lawlessness, and provide a bit of referral to similar victims to protect their rights according to the law.” On December 10, “the rich woman cheated on express delivery.” Ms. Wu, a victim of the “younger brother” rumors, expressed through video her desire to make her misfortune more valuable and meaningful.
Ms. Wu has filed a private criminal defamation proceeding in court. On December 14, the Hangzhou City Yuhang District People’s Court accepted the case.
Zhao Hu pointed out that the law stipulates that citizens have the right to reputation. The Civil Code, which will be formally implemented next year, clarifies that civil subjects have personality rights, including the rights of portraiture, reputation and privacy. When the right to personality is violated, the victim has the right to demand that the perpetrator assume civil liability in accordance with the law.
“If the circumstances are serious, you may also be suspected of violating the criminal law,” Zhao Hu said. Based on relevant court interpretations, if the same defamatory information is clicked on, viewed more than 5,000 times, or republished more than 500 times, the “circumstance is grave” and may constitute a crime of defamation.
“After discovering the rumors, they should immediately file a complaint on the online platform, and the platform side should assume its own responsibilities,” Zhao Hu urged. According to Article 36 of the Civil Liability Law, “When network users use network services to commit offenses, the offending person has the right to notify the network service provider to take the necessary measures, such as the removal, blocking and disconnection of links. The network service provider has not If the necessary measures are taken in time, the network user will be jointly and severally liable for the enlarged part of the damage. “
The laws and regulations governing internet rumors are still getting better. In accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code, network service providers shall promptly forward the relevant network users after receiving the infringement notification. Internet users can submit a statement that there is no violation. The network service provider will forward the declaration to the obligee who issued the notification and will inform him that he can file a complaint with the corresponding department or file a claim with the people’s court.
On November 20, the Guangzhou City Baiyun District People’s Court sentenced the defendant Liu in the “corporal punishment case for falsifying bloody clothes and spreading rumors” to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for two years. . Public safety and the courts in many places reminded the public to distinguish between good and evil, be cautious in your words and deeds, and never touch the legal red line on the Internet.
Zhao Chen
